This section of the site is dedicated to atheism and, in particular, my thoughts and opinions on the matter. As “atheism” itself is a term that is inconsistently used with both broad and specific definitions, I’ll start this section by clarifying my position.
I do not believe in the existence of deities – in particular the supernatural, omniscient and omnipotent anthropomorphic entities described by the major religions. I believe that blasphemy is a “victimless crime” because I believe God does not exist. Despite my atheistic beliefs, I am intellectually honour-bound to consider the possibility that a deity or deities do exist. However, as it is logically impossible to disprove the existence of something, I assert that the burden of proof lies with proponents of the “God Theory”.
Arguments for and against the existence of God are many and varied. They have been argued again and again, partly because they are replete with flawed logic and reasoning (on both sides of the debate) and partly because there’s a large contingent of people who like to express an opinion. The latter is the main reason why tired and oft debunked positions keep being asserted ad nauseum. My position, and indeed my rules of engagement for theists and atheists alike, are as follows:
- Attack the argument, not the individual. This can be a passionate and emotive debate, especially where ones viscerally held beliefs are challenged. Do not allow frustration to tempt one into making personal attacks! Besides, nothing so effectively undermines the legitimacy of a position as resorting to abuse.
- Avoid logical fallacies. This is harder than it sounds and everyone (and I mean everyone) will fall foul of these sooner or later. Some are obvious, some are more subtle. By being mindful of logical fallacies, one can form a more coherent – and persuasive – argument. (Note that I’ve seen many self-identified atheists employ logical fallacies many times).
- Maintain the intellectual dignity of rational debate. There’s no reason why opposing views cannot be discussed respectfully and intelligently. Simply put, “the first person to shout loses the argument”. The best way to do this is to prevent a discussion from becoming heated in the first place. Belligerence and arrogance have no place in intellectual discourse.
Confirmation Bias
Although tenet #2 above covers all the logical fallacies, I’d like to take a moment to single out confirmation bias. This is by far one of the most frequent fallacies I’ve seen both theists and atheists make.
Put simply, “confirmation bias” is when you seek out arguments, references and information that aligns with your opinion without even questioning the validity of those sources. Further, theists tend to draw arguments from theist sources and likewise, atheists draw on atheist sources. This is the main reason why the same tired and oft-debunked arguments keep being made time and time again.
Naturally, it’s not practical for all of us to personally go and verify first hand what’s written on the Dead Sea Scrolls or to pick through the technical details of a specialist science paper. What we can do, however, is take the time to at least question the objectivity of the source – is it peer reviewed? Is it neutrally and objectively written? Does it cite other objective, verifiable references? Whatever you do, don’t just parrot someone else’s words blindly assuming you’ve hit a “home run” in the debate…you haven’t.
With all that said, I hope you find this section of my site interesting! Feel free to explore and comment on any of the articles in the Atheism category.